sweet potato, ricotta & leek soufflé

I’ve been really inspired by leftovers lately. That whole idea of waste not, want not, makes a big difference on the weekly grocery bill too. This past Rosh Hashanah, I was “winging” it for the side dish. I knew it would be something with sweet potatoes, since I’d picked them up at the farmer’s market, but I didn’t really have a plan. That is until I saw the leeks at the market too. I started thinking about mashed sweet potatoes paired with some sautéed leeks. Then that morphed into a soufflé. When I got home and started unloading ingredients, and spied some leftover homemade ricotta I’d made earlier in the week, my side dish was finally complete—a sweet potato, leek and ricotta soufflé would share the table with apple-onion braised brisket. It’ll also make a nice addition to my Thanksgiving table this year too.

Sweet Potato, Leek & Ricotta Souffle

Serves 6

You want to start with super smooth sweet potato puree, so I suggest using a food processor for best results.

2 large sweet potatoes, roasted, peeled & flesh scooped out and pureed

1 leek, sliced

4 tablespoons of butter, softened

1 cup ricotta (if using store bought, drain any excess water)

4 egg yolks

salt and pepper

4 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch ceramic or glass pie plate with butter; set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and saute until tender and fragrant; set aside. Meanwhile, using the whisk attachment on your stand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form; set aside.

In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix the sweet potato puree, butter, ricotta, egg yolks and salt pepper together. Stir in leeks. gently fold in egg whites. Spoon into prepared pie dish and bake for 1 hour, until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.

Pin It

Comments

[Maria]

Sweet potatoes are my favorite. I am going to try this one for sure!

[Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction]

Looks delicious... I love the combination of sweet potatoes and leeks. I agree that this would be a perfect Thanksgiving dish!

[Olga]

ooh I had sweet potatoes for dinner tonight too (mine were just roasted).

That looks like a great combo of flavors: I really do prefer sweet potatoes in a savory way.

[Katy]

This looks great. I've been looking for interesting things to do with sweet potato. Thanks Jennifer.

[radish]

this is just awesome. i am hiring myself to be your taste taster. my fee is teeny. i only like to eat food! :)

[Maggie]

The word souffle intimidates me a little—but this sounds so delicious.

[eatlivetravelwrite]

Oooh - this looks perfect for Hallowe'en night!

[Gudrun]

how did you make your own ricotta?

And I agree, this is a great sounding dish. Wish I had found it last night - I had uncovered some sweet potatoes and had a bunch of leeks! Ah well. Next time. :-)

[Jennifer Perillo]

Radish - I'm game anytime you're up for taste-testing (and vice versa).

Maggie - don't be intimidated—this isn't one of those fancy sky-high, delicate souffles. But is so delicious and and lighter than you'd think considering it has sweet potatoes and ricotta.

Gudrun - homemade ricotta is very easy—here's my post with pics on making it at home http://mamachronicles.typepad.com/in_jennies_kitchen/2009/09/creamy-homemade-ricotta.html.

[Gina]

Wow, this sounds amazing. Now sure how it would turn out using the Energ-G egg replacer instead of eggs though. Any thoughts, Jennifer?

[De in D.C.]

We celebrated our family Thanksgiving this past weekend and made this as one of the side dishes. It was fabulous! The sweet potato wasn't heavy or overwhelming, and the hint of green flavor from the leeks came through at the end. Definitely a winner.